


Color Green

by IncompleteSentanc (Erava)



Category: Naruto
Genre: Actually Uzumaki Naruto, Another Frickin' Time Travel Fix-It, Black Zetsu's A Ho, F/M, Forbidden Love, Gen, Generally OP Team Seven, Lazy Shikamaru, M/M, Missing Sasuke, Romance, Senju Shikamaru, Uchiha Sakura - Freeform, Violence, Who Needs To Die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-01 18:56:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13301145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erava/pseuds/IncompleteSentanc
Summary: “This is reckless.” Sasuke mutters and Sakura can’t help but snort.“Oh no. We can’t be reckless. Anything but that.” She intones as dryly as possible, and Sasuke shoots her an irritated glare for that. Naruto swats his shoulder absently, pensively staring at the glowing seal between them.(In which four Konohans are driven to desperation, and a seal goes miserably, miserably wrong. Featuring an Uchiha Sakura, Senju Shikamaru, Actually Uzumaki Naruto, and a Mysteriously Missing Sasuke. Forbidden love, OP Team Seven plus Shikamaru, and everything in between.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Color Green by New Politics! ♥

“This is reckless.” Sasuke mutters and Sakura can’t help but snort.

“Oh no. We can’t be reckless. Anything but that.” She intones as dryly as possible, and Sasuke shoots her an irritated glare for that. Naruto swats his shoulder absently, pensively staring at the glowing seal between them.

“It’s admittedly nowhere close to the most reckless thing you’ve done.” Shikamaru notes and Sakura nods her agreement, while Sasuke looks vaguely like he’s swallowed a lemon. Shikamaru sighs heavily. “Then again, we have no idea if this will actually work, do we?”

“It’ll work.” Naruto speaks up, his voice surprisingly uneasy. Sakura tenses at that, and for good reason, because Naruto reaches up to scratch at his nose. “I just… don’t know for sure _how.”_

“You-” Sasuke starts, a vein already popping up in his forehead.

“Look,” Naruto cuts in quickly. “It’ll do one thing for _certain,_ I can tell that much,” he says seriously, “and that is that it’ll take us back in time to a set period. I can control _when._ I just… can’t say for sure _how_ it transports us.”

“What do you mean _how?”_ Shikamaru demands, frowning.

“That there.” Naruto points at part of the seal, grimacing. “I don’t recognize the seal but I can tell it’s meant to transport us. But I don’t _recognize_ it, so I don’t know how it works.”

“Well how many ways could it work?” Sakura asks, gnawing her lip.

“Too many.” Naruto huffs. “Too many to list. Too many to guess. Most _likely_ it’ll simply teleport us all together to a set destination. The problem is, there’s no option for me to choose a destination - just a time.”

Silence fills the valley they stand in, the light of the seal dimly glowing in the depths of the Nara forest. All the deer have fled, pushed away by the unpleasant chakra emitting from the seal. _Tinged with death,_ Naruto had said with a grimace. They’d found it in the depths of the Hokage’s tower, buried under years of dust and scrolls.

It had been unearthed when the tower was destroyed in the latest attack.

Sakura closes her eyes at the memory, counting to ten. Shikamaru’s hand settles on her shoulder when she done and she opens them again, dispelling the grief at the memory of the attack, and hardening herself to the task at hand. “Then let’s focus on what we _can_ work with. How far back do we want to go?”

Silence fills the valley for a long minute. Naruto looks sideways out over the edge of the Hokage Monument, at the smoking ruins of Konoha and the scattered buildings that still stood resiliently.

Kaguya’s attacks had been getting closer and closer with each passing day, but none of them had quite been prepared for a direct assault. Not so soon, at least.

They’d lost contact with Suna only days ago. It should’ve taken Kaguya a week to get the Zetsu forces to Konoha, but she’d done it in three days.

“We have a few options.” Shikamaru finally breaks the silence. “Option one. We go far enough back to stop the unleashing of the Kyūbi. Option two. We go far enough back to stop Obito from becoming Tobi to begin with.” He pauses for a moment, frowning deeply. “Option three,” He says slowly, “we go back far enough to stop Madara from becoming the villian he did.”

Sakura blinks, exchanging a doubtful look with Naruto. “Do you really think we could manage that?”

“Yes.” Sasuke, surprisingly, is the one to speak up. He shifts his weight to one leg, planting his single arm on his hip, and frowns down at the ground for a long minute before looking up at them. There’s a hint of guilt swimming in his dark eye, the Rinnegan one hidden behind his hair, and Sakura’s frown deepens. “When I… brought back the Hokages, I spoke to Hashirama about how this strife between the Uchiha and Senju all began. It started long before Hashirama was born, but the strife between him and Madara…” He pauses for a moment, looking vaguely uneasy. “He and Madara were friends for a long time.”

Sakura blinks, recalling the way that Hashirama had looked… strangely betrayed, when Kaguya - using Madara’s twisted, Jūbi infested body - had impaled him and destroyed his form.

For a moment, she wonders distractedly if Hashirama returned to the Pure World, or if the jutsu that brought him back kept him here, lingering as ashes and dust.

It was a disturbing thought.

“Friends.” Naruto cuts in flatly.

“Friends.” Sasuke admits. “As children. The Senju killed three of Madara’s brothers, and the Uchiha killed two of Hashirama’s brothers, and it drove both Madara and Hashirama to seek peace.” Naruto makes a soft noise of dismay at that and Sasuke shoots him an irritated look. “Be quiet or I will be.” He says grouchily.

“Sorry.”

“Regardless,” Sasuke says archly, “they were friends for over a year. Until Tobirama and Izuna, Madara’s brother, reported their meetings to their fathers. Their fathers attacked one another during one of Madara and Hashirama’s meetings and only then did they realize what clan the other was from. Their friendship ended, and a rivalry was born instead. However, they didn’t become true enemies until Tobirama fatally wounded Izuna during a battle. It killed him, naturally, and Madara swore revenge.”

Sakura glances at Shikamaru, frowning, and the man nods in understanding. She, at least, can prevent _that_ death with her healing skills.

“In the end, he fought Hashirama to the death, and only when he was thoroughly defeated did he consider an alliance. Konoha was born, and-”

“Guys.” Naruto cuts in, looking sharply to the side, and a yellow glow encompases him. Sakura tenses immediately, following his gaze - out over Konoha, through the smoke and dust and destruction - but can’t see anything at all. Not that she needs to. She knows his tone.

“Kaguya?”

“Zetsus.” Naruto corrects, golden-red eyes narrowing dangerously. “Fucking Zetsus… We can’t defend Konoha, not with so few of us left.” The Hokage says, looking sharply at his Jōnin Commander. Shikamaru straightens slightly at the attention. “Make a decision, Shikamaru. When do we go to?”

Silence fills the valley over the Hokage Monument.

It’s broken nearly a minute later by Sasuke. “I vote for the Warring States Period. Let’s stop this at the source.”

“If we do it this way, we won’t know how to find Black Zetsu.” Sakura protests and Shikamaru glares down at the seal on the ground, deep in thought and ignoring them both.

“He’ll show up at the Uchiha Compound eventually to fuck with our stone. That’s part of what pushed Madara over the edge - the message Zetsu wrote on it in place of what it originally said.”

“That doesn’t mean we’ll see him.” Sakura points out. “Or be able to stop him, for that matter.”

“We can.”

“He’ll be in the center of the Uchiha compound in the middle of the Warring States. We’ll be slaughtered.”

“Shut up.” Shikamaru cuts in. “I’m trying to think.”

Sakura falls silent, but glares at the back of Shikamaru’s head as the man crouches down. It’s been some time since she’s last seen him take on his ‘thinking pose’, and that unnerves her more than she wants to admit.

She looks back up at Sasuke to see him watching Shikamaru with a tense expression, and Naruto’s gaze is still locked in the distance, shoulders tense.

“I’m going to activate the seal around Konoha.” He announces, preparing to flicker away.

“No.” Shikamaru cuts in sharply enough that Naruto hesitates. “We need all your power for this seal. We can’t waste it on the civilians.”

All three of them bristle at that, even Sasuke, and Shikamaru grimaces.

“I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

Naruto’s jaw is so tense Sakura’s teeth ache just to look at it.

“Shika…” Sakura starts uneasily.

“We need all the chakra we have.”

Naruto grits his teeth, but nods. “He’s right.” He says unhappily. “We’ll need both my chakra and yours, Sasuke and Sakura.” She bites her lip but nods.

Her Yin Seal was far from filled after the latest attack, but she could still pull a mean amount out.

“Naruto.” Shikamaru looks up, eyes narrowed, and the man looks at him expectantly. “How can we defeat Black Zetsu?”

Naruto blinks, then glances at Sasuke.

“Well, together, Sasuke and I can just seal him away with a touch.”

“So it’s a matter of catching him.”

“I can catch him.” Naruto says, then looks doubtfully at Sasuke. “How many times can you use your teleport?”

“Five times in rapid succession.”

“Then our chances are good.” Naruto tells Shikamaru with a nod.

Shikamaru looks back down at the seal, brow furrowing in concentration.

“Not to rush you, but they’re closing in, and we’re out in the open here.” Naruto says idly, gold aura stretching out to form nine tails.

“How long?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Fuck.” Shikamaru hisses, closing his eyes tightly. Sakura sets a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently, and carefully doesn’t move it so he can focus.

“Every option has its merits.” Sasuke murmurs to Naruto, who nods distractedly, his brow furrowed worriedly as he looks down at the surviving remains of Konoha.

Sakura watches too, and wonders if this is what happened to Suna.

Had they just… wiped it off the surface of the earth? Like they’d come so close to doing to Konoha?

Without Sasuke and Naruto to fight and her to defend…

Sakura closes her eyes for a moment, focusing on breathing.

“...I think,” Shikamaru says, with an unusual level of uncertainty, and Sakura opens her eyes to look at him - the other two doing the same. “I think that Sasuke is correct.” He says and her eyes widen in surprise.

She, herself, had been angling for the ‘stop Obito from becoming Tobi’. “Are you sure?” Naruto cuts in severely, arms folded across his chest, and Shikamaru gives a curt nod.

“It’s our best chance. Stopping Madara at the source, before anything happens - before Black Zetsu can orchestrate the summoning of the Jūbi’s corpse, before the Rinnegan can be reborn to begin with. We need this. If we do it this way, our _only_ foe will be Black Zetsu. No Jūbi statue. No Madara, no Tobi, no Kaguya, no bloody Zetsus. Just Black Zetsu.”

Sakura glances at Naruto, who holds her gaze for a moment before looking to Sasuke.

After a long, tense pause, Sasuke nods. “I agree. As I said, it’s our best shot.”

“Sakura?” Naruto looks back at her.

She presses her lips together tightly, then looks to Shikamaru, who gives her an unwavering nod. She takes a breath, looks back at Naruto, and nods. “I agree.”

“Then let’s do it. We have five minutes before those fuckers get here and destroy my village.” Naruto says roughly, stepping delicately into the middle of the seal. “Put your hands on me. Try to stay in the gaps of the seal.” He commands and the three of them carefully do so. Her other hand grips Shikamaru’s, and she looks sideways at him to see him watching her grimly.

There’s no confidence in his decision. No certainty. Just… hope.

As the seal lights up around them, blinding blue and gold at once, she prays that’s enough.

 

* * *

 

Sometime, somewhere, a five year old girl opens her eyes to see a boy standing over her. “Katsumi,” He greets not cheerfully but happily enough. “It’s time for training. C’mon - Nii-san is already waiting for us.”

The boy leaves in a sweep of air and she watches him go, blinking rapidly.

_What?_

She wonders, then stands up and looks at the room she’s in. It looks like something from the Feudal era - from the Warring States Period, and for a moment, relief courses through her.

 _It worked,_ she thinks. _It actually worked._

And then she sees the mirror in the corner.

The spiky black hair running down her back, just a few inches short of her lower back.

The black eyes that stare back at her.

The five year old form she takes.

Sakura grits her teeth so hard it makes her head hurt.

 _Naruto,_ she thinks, staring hatefully at her own reflection.

 _I am going to_ **_kill you._ **

Somewhere, miles and miles away, a red haired teenager wakes up already feeling sick with dread.

He sits up and looks at his own hands, blinking as red hair falls into his face, and feels the blood rush away.

 _Oh, no._ He thinks in utter horror.

 

_Sakura’s going to gut me like a fish._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna update as many of my stories as I can as soon as I can, but I'm going to a basically internetless place on Feb 5th to stay with my grandma as she passes. Will probably be gone for 2-3 months. On the bright side, I'll have plenty of time to write while I'm there?
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! :> ♥


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly adjusted Sakura's new age to be five instead of four. Hope you enjoy =)

Her name is Katsumi Uchiha. She’s the younger sister of Madara and the older of Izuna, a fact that send shudders through her spine. _Uchiha,_ she thinks unhappily, staring down at her hands when no one’s looking.

Well, when she thinks they aren’t.

“I’m worried about her.” She catches Izuna saying one day, a week after she’s… _woken up_ like this.

“Don’t be. She’s just mourning Hiroya.” Madara says, dismissive but tight with a grief of his own.

Hiroya. Her youngest brother. Dead in his sleep from a poisoned senbon.

 _This war,_ Sakura reflects darkly, _is sickening._

War crimes existed for a reason, and though there were few rules that actually applied during war, the slaughter of non-genin or higher ranking children was one of them. Shinobi wars were between shinobi, not between shinobi and infants.

Hiroya had only been six months old.

It’s as good of an excuse as any for her… ‘change in personality’. Not that she’d actually _changed,_ but her new body had, and that was as odd a thought as any.

 _I’m an Uchiha now,_ she muses as she brushes her hair in the mirror. Their mother is already dead, she’d learned quickly - dead to Hiroya’s birth. It was a harsh revelation to Sakura.

Not that she particularly cared about her so called mother, cold as that was, but that the Warring States Period lacked any true medic-nins outside of Hashirama himself - which was desperately unfair. With her around, Sakura vowed, the Uchiha Clan would no longer find themselves at such a disadvantage.

Perhaps that would help Madara from going so…

Incredibly insane.

 _Ridiculously_ insane.

Maybe.

She finishes brushing the ridiculously thick and soft hair she has, then works it into a tight braid that barely holds the spiky ends in place. _Stupid Uchiha hair,_ she grumbles as she struggles with the braid. She had half a mind to chop it off at her shoulders - but most Uchiha men wore their hair like that, and she didn’t want to look like a male.

Though her eyes were girly enough that she could probably get away with it.

“Aneue!” Izuna calls at her door, as he does every morning.

 **_“What?”_ ** Sakura hisses, hating to be disturbed so early, and there’s a short pause.

“You’re sounding more and more like Aniki every day.” Izuna says a little nervously. “Chichi-ue wants us in the training grounds for sword practice.” Izuna explains, and now there’s a note of unease.

She’s been there a week, and _none_ of them like Tajima Uchiha, their father. Sakura refuses to call him _chichi-ue_ like the others, because not only does the man so far not deserve that respect, but he seems to feel the same way about her.

Indeed, when they arrive in the training grounds, he sneers at her when he passes her her training katana. “Women have no business on the battleground,” He says coldly, “But Madara insisted women be capable of defending themselves.”

Sakura blinks, then sends Madara a small smile when Tajima looks away.

The boy, seven years old to her five, doesn’t look at her.

 _Typical Uchiha,_ she can’t help but think, exasperated. Even as an adult, Sasuke had _sucked_ at being social.

Then again, if she were young, she’d probably not be very social around such a bitchy father.

“The Senju have kunoichi.” She can’t help but say.

The welts she gets from training are worth the look on Tajima’s face.

 

* * *

 

“You aren’t wrong.” Madara says quietly as he tends to her and Izuna’s wounds. For training, Tajima hadn’t done much to actually _teach._

Or, rather, his version of teaching seemed to be to beat it into them.

Madara seems used to it as he rubs a spicy scented oil into their welts before wrapping them.

“Aniki?” Sakura forces herself to use the title, which Madara responds to with a surprisingly warm questioning look. “How old did our brothers die?”

The warm fades. He doesn’t look just angry, but also sad and grim. “Teruo was six. Taki was five.”

Sakura blinks at that. “How could he be five when I’m five?” She asks, genuinely confused. If Madara was seven, Izuna four, Teruo six, and herself five… that didn’t add up.

“Teruo and Taki were twins. Taki died first.” Madara explains softly, wrapping a particularly brutal welt on the back of her left hand.

She already knew how to use a sword with her right hand. A tanto, not a katana, but she still knew - and it would show, had she practiced with it. So she practiced with her left hand instead.

It would be a benefit eventually, even if it had felt awkward and _wrong,_ because being ambidextrous had given Sasuke an edge all of them had lacked.

At least until he’d lost his arm being a moron.

“I see.” Sakura says slowly, the silence having lingered as she was lost in thought. “Why do we fight so young?” She asks quietly and Madara pauses in his bandaging for a brief second before moving to a welt on her cheek.

“Because we’re at war, Katsumi.”

She hates that name. Katsumi. And she hates that word, too. _War._ An excuse for violence. “Why?”

“No one remembers how it started.” Madara admits freely. Izuna throws him a dark look.

“But the war’s gone on for years. The Senju slaughter us in battle. So we slaughter them in return.” Izuna says unpleasantly. He doesn’t sound happy about it, but there’s a certain level of contentedness that makes Sakura think, _Curse of Hatred._

It’s not a pleasant thought.

Madara silently finishes tending to her wounds, not responding to Izuna. It makes Sakura a little curious. Had Sasuke been right? Had Madara truly not fallen to the Curse of Hatred until after a friendship with Hashirama?

Sasuke had said as much, but it was hard to believe it without seeing it.

Hell, it was hard even seeing it.

“Aniki?” Sakura forces out again, peering at Madara speculatively. He arches a curious brow at her. “I don’t want to fight.”

His face, surprisingly, softens. “I know, Katsumi.”

“But I don’t want anyone elses brother or sister to die, either.” It’s his turn to seem surprised now. Probably at the determination in her voice.

“That’s what we strive for, Katsumi. That’s why we fight. To protect our precious members.”

Sakura nods absently, and contemplates that in silence.

 

* * *

 

 

Far, far away, Naruto Uzumaki is packing his bags.

“You can’t go.” A woman he doesn’t even know - who is apparently his aunt or second cousin or something, he hadn’t been paying attention - protests.

“There’s something I have to do.” Naruto argues flatly, determined to ignore the woman and her problems. If he doesn’t give her a chance to speak them, he can safely ignore them, and be on his way.

“Naruto-sama, please.”

He winces at the pleading tone, but with his back to her, he can easily hide it.

“We need you here. Your parents have just died, Naruto-sama, _please._ The Clan - it might not hold together without a proper leader!”

“Namari.” Naruto says firmly, turning to look at her - and ouch is that a mistake. She looks devastated, tears running down her face, and he almost, _almost_ cringes. “I have to go.” He says, but his voice is weakening.

“Naruto-sama-”

“I _have to.”_

“You can’t abandon us! We’re still mourning your parents! We need you, Naruto-sama! We need our Clan leader!”

Naruto can’t help but wince at her sheer desperation, his resolve wavering.

He has to find them - Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Sakura. He _has to._

But the woman is _crying,_ and he hates that.

“Naruto-sama.” Her voice shudders and she sniffles.

_...Crap._

“Look,” He says uncomfortably, “I’ll be back in a couple weeks. I just have to find something, okay?”

“Find what?” The woman asks, but hope is entering her voice.

“An old friend.” Naruto says, because if there’s one thing he _has_ to do…

Well.

Hopefully Kurama won’t just gut him on sight.

 

* * *

 

 

Sakura can’t escape.

It’s very, very annoying.

“Why do you keep doing this?” Madara asks tiredly as he wraps bandages around her forehead. Tajima had struck her in the temple with unduly brutal force this time, apparently sick of her attempts to get out of the compound.

“I have places to be.” She says, thinking of Shikamaru and Naruto and Sasuke. She’d have thought Sasuke, at least, would have landed with her - but the man (boy?) was nowhere to be found in the compound, and she’d _looked._ With eyes and chakra, and she hadn’t found any traces of him - but the barest hints of Shikamaru, so far in the distance that she can’t imagine where he is.

“You’re five.”

“I’m almost six.” She says with a dismissive sniff, like that actually makes a difference.

If she’d been in her real body, with her real chakra, she’d be able to get free - but her chakra’s _different,_ too warm and too strong. Nothing like the mild, cool and slow moving chakra she was used to.

She’d tried using the Mystical Palm Jutsu on a welt from one of Tajima’s practices and ended up burning herself instead. It hadn’t been the most inspiring moment.

“I need to get out of here.” She says, and it’s true. It itches at her like a bad case of hives. She _needs to go,_ to go find Shikamaru and then the others. Shikamaru would know what to do. He would help her.

“Stop saying ridiculous things.”

“They’re not ridiculous!” Sakura snaps and Madara frowns at her.

“Imouto.”

“Don’t call me that.”

His frown deepens. “Katsumi-” He tries, which is almost as bad, and her snarl of frustration cuts him off.

He looks upwards, as if asking answers from the ceiling, and she flops back onto the bed in an angry huff. She doesn’t care if she looks like a child - she _feels like one,_ which is so much worse.

 _Naruto, why did you have to fuck this up?_ She wonders, squeezing her eyes shut.

Madara heaves a tired sigh. “If you’re going to sulk, I won’t teach you water walking.”

She blinks her eyes open, because that’s actually a really appealing offer. On the other hand… “I’d rather learn it myself.” Because it will undoubtedly be an embarrassing exercise, and she doesn’t want witnesses for that.

“You don’t mean that.” Madara says firmly, gripping her arm. “Now come on.”

He half-drags her to the koi pond behind their home, Izuna catching them in the hall and tagging after with a curious expression.

“Now, water walking is a bit more difficult than tree walking, because the water is constantly moving under your feet.”

“Like the bark on a tree when you’re going fast.” Sakura equates instantly and Madara blinks before nodding.

“Yes. Exactly. Except a tree is solid whereas water is liquid. You not only have to account for the movement of the water, but also for the fact that you’re practically floating on your feet.”

Sakura nods and takes a step out onto the koi pond.

She doesn’t fall through.

_What._

She steps out into the middle of the pond, turning around to see Izuna staring at her with wide eyes and Madara blinking slowly with a mildly impressed look.

Sakura can’t help it. She stomps her foot in frustration, tears stinging at her eyes, and she glares down at the chakra around her feet. “I don’t understand!”

“What?” Izuna asks in surprise. “You did great! It took me all day to learn it, and you got it on your first try!” He protests.

“It’s true. Even I took a few attempts.” Madara says with a frown of confusion and she glares at them instead, refusing to feel bad when Izuna crumples at the look.

“If this is so easy, why is this so hard?” She demands, drawing healing chakra to her palm. It glows green, then fizzles out and she hisses in pain at the stinging sensation.

Madara stares at her for a moment before beckoning her closer. She approaches, stepping off the koi pond and presenting her hand to him when he gestures for it. “What jutsu was that?” He asks with a furrowed brow, taking in the red, stung skin of her palm and fingertips.

She blinks, fumbling for a second. “It’s - ah. It’s something I’m working on?”

“Your own jutsu?” Madara arches a brow and Sakura hesitates before nodding. “What’s it meant to do?”

“The opposite of what it just did.” She complains, huffing out an irritated breath. “It’s supposed to heal, not damage me!”

Silence fills the yard for a moment.

“You… invented a jutsu to _heal?”_ Izuna clarifies, sounding stunned.

“Yes, but it won’t _work_ right.”

“Let me watch you use it again.” Madara instructs, his eyes flashing red.

She flinches a bit at the sight, but looks away before she can see his reaction. She focuses on her hand, summoning the healing chakra again. After a moment, with a hiss of pain, she tucks the chakra away. Her palm is _really_ red now.

“I think I see the problem.” Madara’s gaze flickers back to black, and she looks at him searchingly. “You’re drawing on too much elemental chakra. Practice separating the two more.”

She frowns, having never had that problem before, but obeys. With a deepening frown of concentration, she focuses on drawing strictly on Yang chakra, ignoring her… fire chakra? Hm. That was an annoying change from her water nature before. With an intense focus, she’s able to separate the two - the fire chakra fighting her the entire way. Was this what it was like to have fire nature? To be constantly battling to push it back? No wonder it was one of the hardest natures to learn.

After several minutes of struggle, healing chakra floods her palm and the pain fades.

“Whoa!” Izuna peers closely at her palm as the chakra fades, the redness gone with it, and he looks utterly stunned - while even Madara looks a little amazed.

It makes her preen a bit, before she reminds herself that it’s simply because healing jutsu hadn’t been invented yet. She hadn’t _actually_ invented it, after all.

“This,” Madara says slowly, his eyes glinting with not vengeance but hope, “will change the course of this war.”

Sakura’s smile fades and she nods.

_Yes._

_It will._

* * *

 

Somewhere in the distance, a six year old Shikamaru wakes up to the sound of his new brothers fighting.

He contemplates getting up and intervening for a moment, if only to shut them up, before rolling over and going back to sleep.

He'll deal with life later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! ♥


	3. Chapter 3

Shikamaru lived one life as a Jōnin Commander to Naruto Uzumaki.

Then he began another one as Keiroma, the younger brother of Hashirama Senju, and the older brother of Tobirama. Not that you could tell from the way Tobirama behaved, bossing them all around with ferocity. 

It’s a strategic position, he acknowledges, but not a convenient one. He can feel Sakura on the edges of his senses, her familiar chakra warm and bubbly against his, but she’s so far away he’s not sure he could reach her even if he tried. She’s certainly outside the Senju boundaries, which makes him wonder what Clan she ended up trapped in. 

He sighs, rolling over in bed, and glances at his reflection in the mirror. He has blood red eyes like Tobirama, but straight black hair like Hashirama. 

Part of him wonders if Sakura would look so different, too. So very changed.

Part of him worries, briefly, if he’d still be attracted to her - but he dismisses that immediately. Of course he will be - though not for many, many years, if she’s the same age as he is. And if she isn’t, things would be awkward.

_ Why put us so far apart?  _ He wonders, rolling onto his back to frown up at the ceiling. Sasuke and Naruto were far enough away that he couldn’t even sense them, and he was the best sensor out of the four of them, unless Naruto cheated and used Sage Mode.  _ And why change our ages? _

To give them a better, more personal chance at changing things? It was opportunistic, he couldn’t deny that - but it was certainly unwelcome. He’d had  _ plans _ for their arrival. Dozens of them.

But he hadn’t taken account for this strange twist. Why would he have? Who could have predicted that things would change in such a strange way?

He sighs, looking up at the ceiling for a moment longer before draping his arm over his eyes.  _ Sakura,  _ he thinks unhappily.

_ I hope you’re okay. _

 

* * *

 

Naruto was traipsing through the woods. 

There was no better word for it - he was traipsing. Meandering. Slowly and confusedly approaching a black spot on his senses.

The Land of Fire was a weird place to him now, and he was surprised how much things had changed in his time - but then, it made sense, didn’t it?

This forest had gone through three great wars and the Warring States Period. The landscape had no doubt suffered for it.

So he traipses through the woods, pausing every now and then to hop up onto a tree and enter Sage Mode to make  _ sure _ he’s going the right way. He can sense Sakura and Shikamaru when he does that - shining beacons in the distance, with Sakura further than Shikamaru - and hopes they’re okay.

_ Taki Uzumaki, _ they’d tried to call him. Like hell was he taking on a name like that. He had violently protested until, finally, they’d conceded and called him Naruto. He’d gotten a few pitying looks, and even heard someone mutter that he was unhinged after his parents apparently brutal deaths, but no. He just refused to be called something he wasn’t. Naruto was his name, and they’d had to simply deal with it.

“Where, oh where are you?” He muses, hopping up onto a tree branch. He closes his eyes, stretching out his senses, and yep, there it is.

A black spot of chakra on the horizon, practically  _ bubbling _ with rage and hatred. 

For a moment, he just sighs. He’d hoped Kurama wouldn’t be so angry without him having been sealed away yet (or had he had a container before Mito?) , but it seemed he was out of luck in that regard.

_ Oh well, _ he muses as he hops back to his feet and drops back down into the grass.

_ I’ll just have to show him my Six Paths mode and hope he listens. _

 

* * *

 

“Katsumi.” Madara says flatly as she and Izuna duck into the training grounds. It’s just Madara today to train them, the prodigy that he is, and she can’t help but be relieved by that. As fun as it is to needle Tajima, it’s also painful in the end, and she’s still hiding her healing jutsu and pretending it needs more practice.

(What a laugh. Once she realized the problem, her old jutsus had flowed right through her as naturally as breathing.)

“Yes, aniki?” She asks politely.

“Why are you carrying two swords?”

“Why would anyone carry two swords, aniki?”

“Aneue,” Izuna says plaintively, while Madara reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I’m not teaching you to fight with two swords. It’s ridiculous.”

“Aniki.” Sakura says severely, which she imagines sounds funny coming from a five-almost-six year old. “I’m fighting with two swords, if you teach me or not.”

The man had once fought with a scythe in one hand and a giant  _ fan _ in the other, for crying out loud. Two swords was hardly anything compared to  _ that. _

Madara’s face wrinkles in displeasure, but he nods reluctantly. “Fine. But I have little experience in this area. For most people,  _ one sword _ is enough.” He says snobbishly. She just shrugs, flipping the sword in her left hand into a backwards grip and keeping the other forward. “Izuna prefers a backwards grip. However, neither of us are ambidextrous like you.”

_ I’m not either,  _ she almost says, but she’s been  _ practicing. _ A lot. She even used a shadow clone to help, even if her chakra stores weren’t quite up for the task, and the jutsu hadn’t technically been invented yet…

“That’s alright. I’ll fight you both.” Sakura decides aloud.

Madara blinks slowly at her, a eyebrow rising. 

“What? I know I won’t  _ beat you. _ I’m not an  _ idiot. _ But it’ll be good practice.” Sakura points out, and after a moment, Madara nods towards Izuna.

In the blink of an eye, their both on her, her wooden swords catching theirs as she twists awkwardly.  _ Ouch, _ she thinks as she already pulls a muscle.

_ This,  _ she decides as they dance together,  _ will take some serious practice. _

 

* * *

 

Kurama, Naruto decides as claws scrape down his back, was an asshole. “I’m being serious!” Naruto cries out as he dashes away from the furious fox. “I’m a time-travelling super awesome Hokage with you sealed in me! Just let me touch your paw and you’ll see!”

Kurama snarls and swipes at him again.

Naruto twists around the blow and scowls at the bijū, jabbing a finger out to point at it. “Fine! You want to play rough? We’ll play!” He snaps, activating his Six Paths Sage Mode and flinging himself at the demon fox.

 

* * *

 

 

Sakura hates her brothers, she decides as she tends to her injuries.

In fact, she hates everyone.

They hadn’t gone  _ remotely _ easy on her, and for a four year old, Izuna was  _ painfully  _ good. It makes her hate Tajima, because she can tell her body isn’t used to this type of training, even though Izuna’s clearly been training for well over a year.

“You asked us to.” Madara scolds as he helps her tend to the wounds she can’t reach with her healing hand. 

“I know.”

“Then stop glaring at me.”

“I can’t help it.” Sakura snaps irritably. “I’m annoyed. Even Izuna, a  _ four year old, _ is better at kenjutsu than me.”

“That’s because he’s been training since he was two.” Madara sighs and Sakura glares even harder.

“And I’m only starting now, at five.” She says with no small amount of bitterness. 

If only she’d been reborn into a body actually trained for combat. The muscle memory is there, but the muscles are painfully lacking. And, apparently, she sucks at kenjutsu in general. Her only practice had been her Chūnin tantō, but still, to be so terrible at something stings. She glares down at her lap while Madara bandages her back, uncaring of the way her chest is bared to him. It’s not like she  _ has _ anything to hide, after all.

She might as well have a boys body.

“It’ll get better. You learn fast, imouto.”

She hates it when he calls her that. This Madara is so very different from the one she knew, but she still  _ knew that one. _ And to be called imouto so affectionately but the man who had caused so much pain and death in her past was… irking. To say the least.

“Don’t call me that.” She says quietly and Madara sighs softly, breath hot against the space between her shoulder blades as he tends to a welt on her ribs. 

“I don’t know why you suddenly hate it so much, Katsumi. You used to love being called that.”

“I’m a kunoichi now.” She says, and hears his soft snort at that. Irritation flares again and she twists around, glaring. “You don’t believe I’m capable?”

“Katsumi, you’ve only been training for four months.” Madara says heavily. “It’ll be a year before you’re sent into battle.”

“Will it?” She asks bitterly, and pain flickers across his face. “Because I’m older than most training shinobi.” She says, almost saying  _ genin. _ Or even chūnin. “How long before chichi sends me out there with his  _ blessing?” _

Madara silently watches her for a long minute before pulling her abruptly into an awkward, sideways hug. “I won’t let him, Katsumi. I don’t care how bitter he is that you’re a daughter and not another son. I’m not losing another sibling.” He says fiercely.

She freezes in his grasp, but reluctantly relaxes into it. He’s warm and steady, even if part of her wants to  _ hate him _ for what he did. For Neji’s death. For Ino’s death. For Tsunade’s. Gaara’s.

The death toll was countless, before and after he became Kaguya. 

But this Madara was as different from that was as the moon from the sun. It was hard to imagine this Madara being the same as the other one. This one was protective and caring, wanting to stop the war instead of starting a new one, and to compare the two was ridiculously difficult sometimes.

“Aniki?” Sakura asks into his shoulder, and he hums in question. “Do you want to stop this war?” She asks quietly, and he goes still for a long minute.

“Yes.” He says, after a while. “But that’s much easier said than done.”

“One day you’ll be clan head, though.” Sakura points out, pulling back to meet his shadowed gaze. “You’ll be able to stop it.”

“Maybe.” Madara says, but there’s a hint of hope there that hadn’t been there before.

“Maybe.” She echoes, frowning softly.

 

* * *

 

 

Shikamaru notices Hashirama’s disappearing acts before anyone else - even Tobirama, who is probably smarter than him, but more distracted by training and practice.

It doesn’t take long for Butsuma to notice, too. “I want you to follow him. Figure out what he’s doing that’s so important he exposes himself to the land outside our encampment.”

Sasuke had said Tobirama had been given this task - but Shikamaru is the older of the two now, and perhaps that’s why Butsuma chooses him.

“Sure.” Shikamaru says tiredly, standing up and stretching his arms and back.

“And get back to training when you get back.” Butsuma adds sharply.

“Okay.” Shikamaru agrees lazily. For a moment, Butsuma looks irked, but he just whips around and strides away. Shikamaru watches him go with a small frown, thoughtfully considering the situation. He’d just go find a tree to nap in if it was up to him, but Izuna would also be spying on Madara and Hashirama, if Sasuke’s story was accurate. Which meant he’d have to go, or Hashirama would be cornered by Izuna, Madara, and their father all at once.

...Plus, he could sense Sakura’s chakra nearing Hashirama’s, and he considers the implications of that for a long minute. “Hm.” He muses before springing into the nearest tree and leaping away.

 

* * *

 

 

“Your brother has been disappearing.” Tajima tells Sakura, during one of the rare moments where he actually directly speaks to her. She blinks, frowning. Was it already time for Madara to be meeting with Hashirama? “You are… better at stealth than Izuna.” Tajima says, looking like he’s swallowed a lemon, and in the back of her mind, Sakura thinks  _ damn right I am. _

She’s actually twenty after all. Of  _ course _ she’s better than a four year old.

“I’m ordering you to go after him the next time he leaves. Find out where he’s going. Report to me if there’s any danger.”

“Of course, chichi.” She says solemnly. The man pulls a face at the lack of -ue respect, but nods sharply at her. 

“Go. He’s leaving now.”

She goes, not because Tajima had ordered her, but because she can sense more than just Madara and Hashirama at the would-be-named Naka river.

She can sense  _ Shikamaru. _

 

* * *

 

  
“Haha!” Naruto cries as he finally,  _ finally _ tackles Kurama, his clothing in tatters and soaked with blood despite his healing factor. “I’ve got you now!” He reaches to put his fist to Kurama’s paw, holding the demon fox down tight with his chakra-

Only for the paw to lash out and send him flying into a tree.

Naruto collapses to the ground, gasping, and then has to roll out of the way of a stomping, clawed paw-hand.

_ Why am I doing this?  _ He wonders as he struggles to catch his breath.

**_Because I want to be whole again, kit. Now get moving!_ ** Kurama orders.

Naruto feels like crying.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I got drunk, can't sleep, and spam wrote, you get an update at 4 AM my time on a freakin' weekday ♥


	4. Chapter 4

Sakura’s almost at the river - almost at  _ Shikamaru - _ when she senses the man (boy? Was he a child like her?) suddenly move downstream, away from Hashirama and Madara. 

She follows automatically, chasing his chakra down the river. Down, down, and down, until finally, Shikamaru comes to a stop. She leaps out of the trees, landing neatly on the water, and finds herself face to face with…

Not Shikamaru.

But  _ Shikamaru. _

It’s not his face, not his body, but it’s his chakra, and it’s definitely his annoyed expression she sees now. “You’re a kid too?” He says, sighing. “Troublesome.”

She reaches out and pinches him. He winces, but it was a deserved punishment for using the  _ t _ word at her. “It is, though.” She admits, and gets a glare for that. Not his face, but his expressions, and it’s eerie. He looks like… well. He looks  _ strange, _ as strange as she imagines she looks to him. “Who are you?” She asks curiously, and he pulls another annoyed face.

“Keiroma, the second son of Butsuma Senju. The Nidaime is my  _ younger brother. _ ”

“Oh good.” Sakura sighs heavily. “It’s not just me. But I have it worse.” She says with annoyance of her own. “Katsumi Uchiha. I get Madara fucking Uchiha as my older brother.”

To her surprise - though, why should she ever be at this point? - Shikamaru doesn’t look surprised, but contemplative instead. “I’d wondered, when I sensed you coming my way. Did your…  _ father _ also send you to spy on your  _ brother?” _ Shikamaru asks, pulling faces at the words. 

“Yes. And he’s a sexist asshole, so I wasn’t going to obey regardless.” Sakura says with a disdainful sniff.

“Mine’s just a hardass.” Not-Shikamaru sighs heavily. “I have no time to rest anymore.”

“My level of sympathy depends on your definition of ‘no time’.” Sakura says unsympathetically. 

“Why did I ever marry you?”

“Oh, please. You adore me.”

“You look like Madara.” 

“You look like Hashirama and Tobirama combined. Nice eyes.” 

“You’ll have red eyes soon too, you realize.”

_ Shit. _ Sakura falls silent. “...Okay, you got me there.” She admits and Shikamaru looks almost smug. It’s a weird look on his weird new face. “I can’t do this anymore. Henge?” She suggests.

“Henge.” He agrees instantly. They henge almost as one, and immediately, she’s three feet taller and looking into the eyes of her husband. 

“So much better.” She says before kissing him heatedly. He returns it with fervor, but after a long minute, they’re forced to pull apart for air. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” He admits.

“It’s been  _ five months. _ ”

“Feels like longer.”

“And where the fuck are Sasuke and Naruto?”

“No idea.” Shikamaru shrugs unhelpfully. “Not here.”

“Obviously.” She snaps, irritation flaring again before she forces it down. “What do we do?” She asks, nodding towards Madara and Hashirama’s vague direction.

“Nothing. Something. I’m not sure yet, I was distracted.” Shikamaru frowns and usually Sakura would feel smug about being able to distract him so thoroughly, but she’s trapped in a five year old body, and that puts a damper on everything. She lets him think in silence for a long minute. “It would be smart to keep things on the set schedule we already know about.” He says slowly.

“But it’s tempting, isn’t it?” Sakura commiserates, reading between the lines. “We could always poison our fathers and let our seven year old brothers become Clan Heads now, while they’re still cute and hopeful.”

“Cute?” Shikamaru wrinkles his nose.

“I’ve been stuck with him for five months, Shikamaru. I had to look past the psychopathic maniac and see the caring aniki lurking within.”

His nose wrinkles further. Hers wants to, too.

“I still hate it.” She admits and he nods, looking vaguely relieved. 

“I was worried for a second.” 

“Shut up.”

“We could change things, but I’m not sure how beneficial that would be.” Shikamaru admits suddenly and she frowns. 

“Because they’ll have to meet on the battlefield one day anyways?”

“Exactly.”

“So we tattle.”

“We aren’t- we’re shinobi, don’t call it tattling.”

“We’re five.”

“I’m six.”

“Oh, what a difference.” Sakura rolls her eyes and he glares up at the sky.

“My point remains. We’re shinobi. We need to make strategic decisions here.”

“I’m not arguing with that. I’m just curious what strategy you’re suggesting. Let things remain on the same course? Have you considered  _ our _ positions?” Sakura says, voice rising with anxiety. “We’ll have to fight each other. We’ll have to try to  _ kill  _ each other, or it’ll look suspicious.”

“We can just spar.” Shikamaru argues, shaking his head.

“On an open battlefield, while our new families slaughter each other around us? What if I have to kill Tobirama? What if you have to kill Izuna?”

“Sakura.” Shikamaru cuts her off with a slightly pained, understanding look. “We don’t have much of a choice in this regard. I won’t be allowed to stay off the battlefield, and if I’m there, nothing will stop you from being there.”

That was true. Very true. Sakura sags tiredly and he wraps his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. “I hate this idea already.”

“We can’t stop the war, Sakura. We never thought we could. We’re just here to stop the  _ others. _ ”

Sakura nods, and after a moment, she pulls back with a determined expression. “Then we minimize our losses. You have Hashirama to play healer, and now the Uchiha have me. We’ll work with Madara and Hashirama to encourage peace, and when they become clan heads, perhaps they’ll be willing to stop this immediately instead of dragging it out.”

“I don’t know how successful we’ll be. Tobirama and Madara didn’t want peace between the two clans.”

“Only because of bad blood that we can minimize. We can encourage them to seek peace. To seek resolution. Madara loses himself to the idea of war and loss. I’ll try to stop that from happening.” 

For a long minute, silence follows, and the two of them stare at each other.

“We should go.” Shikamaru breaks the silence, quiet and apologetic.

“I don’t want to. I just got you back.”

“I’m sorry, Sakura.” He reaches out to tuck a strand of pink hair behind her ear and she makes a soft, angry sound, looking sharply away. She glares down at the water beneath them.

“I wish we’d never chosen this time.”

“I know.” Shikamaru says sympathetically but not agreeably. “But it was the best option at the time, and I still believe it has the potential to prevent everything, and isn’t that our goal, Sakura?” He points out with surprising delicateness.

She continues glaring at the water under their feet. “Fuck Naruto. As soon as I get my hands on him, I’m going to  _ strangle _ him.”

Shikamaru just sighs.

 

* * *

 

 

In the end, it takes them another hour to part, reluctantly heading their separate ways - with promises to meet again in a week or so.

“He’s meeting with someone from another clan.” Sakura tells Tajima that evening, before Madara’s return, and keep a careful eye out for Izuna’s chakra. The boy was already a notorious snoop, and he’d make a great spy in the future - but for now, he was a pain in the ass when it came to secrets.

“Another clan?” Tajima questions, frowning deeply. “A girl?”

“No. A boy his age. At the river north of here.”

Tajima stills for a moment, his eyes flashing red. “I see.” He says tightly, hand twitching like he wants to grasp his sword, and Sakura tenses - just in case. Tajima doesn’t seem to notice. “Meet me at the gates the moment Madara leaves next. Bring…” He grits his teeth for a moment. “Bring armor and weapons.”

Sakura smiles, bitter and tight.  _ So much for that idea, Madara. _ “Of course, chichi.” She bows politely and ducks out of the room.

_ Shikamaru,  _ she thinks when she enters her room, settling on the bed and burying her hands in her ridiculously fluffy hair.  _ I really, really don’t want to fight you. _

But there’s a feeling settling in her gut that tells her she’s not going to have a choice.

 

* * *

 

 

Madara leaves three days later. Tajima corners him just outside the gate, Sakura and Izuna - who looks so tiny in his little armor that it’s painful to look at him - a few steps behind. “You’re taking us to meet your friend, Madara. And if he’s from an enemy clan, I will cut him down.” Tajima informs Madara, who pales slightly but nods.

As he turns away, Sakura can see his eyes narrowing intently in thought - but a few minutes later, when he glances back at her and Izuna, his eyes betray nothing.

She can sense the others approaching the river - Hashirama and Shikamaru with two unfamiliar chakras - and feels her stomach curl with anxiety.  _ Think of it as a spar, _ she reminds herself firmly, feeling sick as they stop in the treeline just away from the river. 

“Madara.” Tajima says firmly, staring down at the seven year old. “Don’t fail me. Gather intelligence if you can. When you’re done, signal for us.”

“Yes, chichi-ue.” Madara says quietly, then strides out to the water’s edge.

“There’s four people over there, chichi.” Sakura tells him, nodding to the opposite treeline. Tajima blinks, then looks down at her.

“You can sense them?”

“Yes, chichi.”

“You’re a sensor?” Izuna asks almost jealously and Sakura smiles faintly.

“I’ve been practicing.”

“Can you tell who is- no, of course not.” Tajima scoffs, looking away. “You’ve never seen battle. Well, you’ll be getting your taste for it today, daughter. Don’t fail me.”

“I won’t, chichi.” Sakura lies through her pearly white teeth.

He doesn’t look convinced.

 

* * *

 

Sakura meets Shikamaru as Keiroma and Katsumi for the second time with the clash of blades. She only uses one, in her left grip, which Shikamaru narrows his eyes at before he attacks. She parries, he strikes again, and she lunges for his open abdomen. She stops just short of gutting him, giving him the chance to swipe away her blade in an almost natural way.

“Katsumi!” Madara yells at the same time Hashirama yells Shikamaru’s name, and she looks sharply up to see a rock flying overhead. It knocks away a kunai thrown by Butsuma Senju, and a second rock knocks away a knife thrown by Tajima at Shikamaru. 

A bead of sweat rolls down her neck, because she’d been so focused on not hurting Shikamaru that she’d completely missed that. With a quick flip, she puts some distance between them, Shikamaru almost mirroring her movements. Madara lunges in front of her and Izuna, Hashirama rushing in front of Tobirama and Shikamaru, and the pair of them stare each other down for a moment.

“I don’t care if it’s you. If you try to hurt my brother or sister, I’ll kill you.” Madara snarls, almost panting with his anger - or his rush to reach her in time.

“Madara. Katsumi. Are you ready to get your hands dirty?” Tajima asks, drawing his sword properly, and Butsuma narrows his eyes at the man. 

“Chichi-ue.” Madara interrupts, straightening up on the water and taking a deep breath. “He’s stronger than I am.”

“What? Stronger than aniki?” Izuna asks in shock, sounding exactly his age, and gods that makes her chest ache. Even if he isn’t really her brother, he’s so  _ young. _ And Tobirama had  _ recognized _ him, which meant they’d  _ fought _ before. And he’s  _ only four. _

“We’re falling back.” Tajima says firmly, and Sakura turns away, urging Izuna after their father.

She ignores the way Hashirama pleads with Madara, and the angry, tense response Madara gives.

_ Wish me luck, Shikamaru, _ she thinks with a narrowed glance behind her. Shikamaru gives her the faintest of nods, unseen by all but her, and she gives him the tiniest of bitter smiles before looking forward again.  _ Gods know I’ll need it to keep Madara from losing himself. _

 

* * *

 

 

Miles and miles away, far in the other end of the Land of Fire, Naruto collapses into the grass panting.

**_He truly believed you were lying,_ ** Kurama says, which is odd to think about. The two foxes had merged, somehow, once Naruto sealed him away. And somehow the lesser of the two ( _ Sorry, Kurama, but you  _ **_are_ ** _ only half the demon) _ had overcome the first one in terms of memories and personality.

He couldn’t begin to understand it, but he was grateful for it, because the old Kurama was a  _ dick. _

“I just fought,” Naruto pants, “an evil twin of you,” a gulp of air, “for  _ four days.” _

**_It’s not my fault you couldn’t tackle a bijū._ ** Kurama sniffs disdainfully.

“I. Fucking. Hate. You.” Naruto groans, rolling onto his stomach and passing out in the grass.

**_Idiot kit,_** Kurama says with enough fondness that it irks even himself. He huffs, curling up in Naruto’s seal, and silently begins kneading chakra for the man.

**_Maybe I should have mentioned I could just talk to him…_ **

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Her first mission is one week later. “Madara tells me your training has progressed sufficiently.” Tajima says and Sakura closes her eyes before nodding. 

“Yes, chichi.”

“You’re on patrol tomorrow with two of our more skilled shinobi. They’ll be assessing your skill to determine what missions you’re prepared to accept. Be ready for things to go wrong - I’m sending you near the Senju border. Don’t look at me like that.” Tajima adds sharply when she offers a bitter smile. “I’m sending everyone there. I don’t like the way things went, and Madara proclaiming that Butsuma’s oldest is stronger…” Tajima trails off, actually looking troubled for a moment.

“It might… inspire the man to take more action.”

“I understand, chichi.” And the worst part was, she actually did. The man was just trying to protect his clan at this point, and even she couldn’t find a reason to hate him for it - except for the fact that he was dragging her into it when she’s still a month from being just  _ six _ years old.

“Don’t fail me, Katsumi.” Tajima says, and for once, it didn’t sound so damn rude. It  _ almost _ sounded like he actually cared.

“...Yes, chichi-ue.”

 

* * *

 

 

Madara is the only one there to see her off the next morning. She’s wearing her ‘armor’, which  consists of a short black yukata with an armored green chestplate the closest color to her past eyes as she could find - and both katanas at her sides.

“I tried to stop him.” He murmurs so only she can hear. “I promise I did.” There’s a wild kind of touch to him, like he’s actually terrified for her, and she supposes he might be. “He  _ insisted. _ I tried to convince him to at least let me join you, but I’m on my own mission tonight.”

“Where are you going?” Sakura asks, frowning softly, and he looks shiftily away. “Aniki?” She prods when he doesn’t answer.

He grimaces. “There’s going to be a skirmish on the north-east border. We’re going to initiate it. Chichi-ue wants me to get my hands dirty.”

Sakura stares at him for a long minute. “Hashirama’s your friend.” She says blankly.

Madara grimaces deeper, folding his arms tightly across his chest. “Not anymore, imouto. We’re enemies now. I’ve awoken the Sharingan, and he wants me to use it.”

Sakura swallows thickly, worry curling in her stomach - not just for Madara, who she desperately doesn’t want to see fall down the same rabbit hole as before, but also for Shikamaru, who could get caught in the middle of all this.

“Izuna won’t be leaving the compound for some time.” Madara says, which she supposes is reassuring. “I convinced chichi-ue of that much. Izuna needs more training before he faces real battle, and with the way chichi-ue’s talking… it looks like the war is finally truly here, Katsumi.”

“It wasn’t before?” She asks tiredly, because if murdering other clans’ infant children was  _ not _ war action, she was afraid to see what is. 

“That was just skirmishes. Revenge hit and runs from both sides.” Madara says, like that’s any better. “Assassin strikes and such. Now we’re talking about open warfare. Open battles between our clans. We’re just taking the first move.”

“Because you told chichi-ue that Hashirama’s stronger.”

Madara looks vaguely guilty and vaguely like he’s swallowed a lemon when he nods. “He’s not. Or, rather, not by very much. But you weren’t ready for battle, and I couldn’t protect you from Butsuma and Keiroma while fighting off Hashirama myself.”

She feels mildly touched by that, and mildly annoyed, because she actually  _ could _ take care of herself, not that he’d seen her truly fight. She was stuck revealing her skills slowly over time.

“I see.” She says eventually, sighing and scuffing the dirt under her shoes. Her hair is tightly bound, but even so, several locks fall in front of her eyes, too wild and ridiculous to be tamed properly. “Aniki. Will you promise me something?”

“Of course.”

She looks up, meeting his black stare with her own, and sets her jaw. “Keep dreaming about peace, aniki. I don’t want Izuna or I to die out there because of some stupid blood feud no one remembers who even started.”

Madara flinches slightly, looking stricken by the thought, but after a long minute, he nods. “I’ll keep dreaming, imouto. So long as you keep living.” He promises, pulling her into a tight hug just as her team arrives.

_ Just stay alive, then. _ She muses as she hugs him back before pulling away, turning to her team without a glance back.

_ No pressure at all. _

 

* * *

 

 

She awakens her Sharingan two days later.

A group of six Senju ambush them, Tobirama among them and no doubt the one who gave away their position, and Sakura fights for her life with the other two. It’s difficult to wield the katanas, but she does her best, striking for one of the adults and cutting him down first. It wasn’t really fair - the man was pouncing on Akio, one of her teammates, when she slices him down his back, severing his spine. 

The man falls in a spray of blood and Sakura twists just in time to avoid a stab from Tobirama.

The boy is a much harder fight, as not only does she not want to  _ kill _ him, but he’s also only four or five and it puts her severely off balance. He’s also  _ better _ than her, and it’s like trying to fight Izuna to the death.

In the end, she doesn’t succeed. Tobirama gets a blow into her side that she ignores, and she ends up kicking him away so hard she no doubt breaks ribs even through his armor. He hits a tree and is immediately unconscious, and she just hopes she didn’t fracture his skull - until she remembers that Hashirama can heal better than she can. 

At least, she hopes he can already.

“Katsumi-sama!” Takechi, her other teammate, roars just before she feels a blade score down her back.

She twists, avoiding the worst of it, and punches his open chest so hard her fist goes straight through it.

Her vision changes, her chakra wobbling, and suddenly, she can  _ see. _

It’s like opening a door that’s been closed all her life. Like seeing for the first time ever without sunglasses. 

The world lights up with chakra, and it’s ridiculously easy to help Takechi cut down the last standing shinobi.

When it’s over, she’s trembling and panting, and understands now why Sasuke had felt such a  _ rush _ whenever he used his Sharingan. The world looks so different, so bright and colorful, and she can tell with just a glance that two of the shinobi and Tobirama are still alive - though it appears Akio fell while she was fighting Tobirama.

“Katsumi-sama.” Takechi says as they stand amongst the bodies and the blood, and he glances at the shinobi she’d punched a hole clean through, brow furrowing. It’s so strange to see, to see his face move and also his chakra network actually shift with the movement. “We need to get back to camp. You need a medic.”

_ Medic, _ she wants to scoff, but her head feels strange. The medics of these times were  _ hardly _ anything. Herbalists, more like. “I’ve been creating a jutsu to heal.” Sakura offers instead, reaching back and touching her glowing palm over her shoulder. The wound itches and burns so bad it almost feels like there might be poison on it - but no, she remembers being stabbed and cut before, and the blades  _ always _ burn. 

Takechi is silent for a long minute before he steps delicately over the bodies and rounds her. His next breath in a sharp inhale as the wound slowly stitches shut. She can’t heal it all the way - that would be not only suspicious given that she’s ‘practicing’ it, but she frankly doesn’t have the chakra as well. So once it stops bleeding she moves on, healing the wound in her side, and then looks around. “What do we do with the bodies?”

Takechi still says nothing, though after a moment, he steps back around her and silently cuts the throats of the surviving adult shinobi. It’s eerie to see their chakra lights just… fade away. “I’m not a fan of killing children.” Takechi says coldly. “And I could tell from the way you fought him that you aren’t either.”

“He reminds me of Izuna.” Sakura explains and Takechi nods. 

“Disable your Sharingan before you pass out. The first awakening is always the most exhausting.”

It takes her a moment to figure out how. It’s almost like a switch in her mind, a muscle weak from lack of use, but after a moment, she finds it, and the world loses its brightness.

“Let’s go back to the compound. I’ll tell your father that Tobirama escaped.”

“Technically not wrong.” Sakura says, nodding vaguely to the north-west. “A group of three are approaching from the Senju’s direction. We should leave.”

“Yes. A tactical retreat. Climb on my back - it’ll be faster.”

_ No it won’t, _ Sakura thinks but doesn’t say, since she wouldn’t really be able to explain her speed. “Alright.” She says instead, hopping onto his back.

They speed away from the battle, leaving Akio’s corpse behind.

 

* * *

 

  
Tajima is impressed with her fighting and her ‘new jutsu’ she’s ‘working on’.

Madara, when he learns of her injuries, is furious. 

“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t get hurt?” Sakura demands, tired of his raging rant, and he actually stops at that, freezing. “It was my first mission and he sent me to the Senju border, where we were about to incite a war.”

“Katsumi-”

“No. Listen to me.” Sakura says firmly, glaring at the older boy. “Just because I’m younger than you doesn’t mean I can’t get hurt in battle. I held my own against them, but we were outnumbered, and I was  _ bound _ to get hurt. You can’t protect me from everything, Madara, and more importantly, I don’t  _ want you to.” _ She snarls.

Madara stares at her blankly.

“I am a kunoichi, goddamn it. You’re going to have to  _ trust in my abilities!” _

After a long minute of resounding silence, Madara nods.

“You’re right.” He says, suddenly tired. “You’re always right, you annoying brat.”

“The only one annoying here is you, aniki.” She says with an irritated sniff. “Besides, you should be happy for me. Look.” Her eyes flicker and his widen.

After a moment, his face softens, and she deactivates the Sharingan. “I’m not happy for you because I know what it takes to activate the Sharingan, imouto. But I am proud of you for standing your ground, fighting, and  _ winning.” _

“I know.” Sakura sighs tiredly. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

 

* * *

 

“You,” Butsuma half snarls, and Shikamaru peeks one eye open to see the man crouching over him, looking furious, “are meant to be  _ training.” _

Shikamaru considers for a minute.

“No.” He decides, closing his eye again. 

The kick that sends him flying off his tree branch is, admittedly, probably something he should have seen coming. The bruised ribs he gets from it still hurt though.

He lands on the ground, then immediately flops down and sprawls, looking up at the clouds and tree tops.

In the end, Butsuma physically drags him to the training ground.

Where he lays down and ignores them.

He’s not helping them truly start this war whether they like it or not. 

Besides, he’s still pissed about Tobirama attacking his  _ wife. _

 

* * *

 

 

Sakura runs her hands through her hair, frowning at her reflection. There’s a scar in her side now, red and ugly, and she sighs at the sight of it as she pets her hair slowly. She can’t help it sometimes - the fluffy locks are ridiculously soft and silky, and she often finds herself tugging on them when lost in thought.

There’s a knock on the shogi screen and she hastily lowers her shirt, frowning. “Yes?”

The screen slides open and Madara steps in, Izuna a mere step behind. “We’re about to start training. Will you be joining us?”

“Of course.” Sakura says, immediately starting to pull her waist length hair back into a tight braid. “I need to practice my kenjutsu.”

She stands up and grabs her swords, following them out of the room and to the nearest training ground.

She gets her ass kicked again, but it’s worth it in the end.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! This might be my last update for a little while, as I'm about to leave for the internetless land in a week. I'll be gone probably a month. Sorry. Hope you enjoy anyways :< ♥


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